Abstract:

The aim of the present study is to evaluate diversity among the Turkish local pea germplasm for mineral concentrations and agro-morphological traits for breeding programs. The experiment was conducted during 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 and arranged according to an augmented block design with 40 local genotypes and two standard check cultivars (Carina and Jof). Seed yield per plant was positively and significantly correlated with branches per plant, pods per plant, seeds per pod, harvest index, and 100-seed weight. The first three principal components (PC1) for agro-morphological traits accounted for 76.3% of the total variation. The principal first component was positively correlated with harvest index, seeds per pod, seed yield per plant and negatively correlated with first podding height and plant height. The PC2 was positively related to plant height, first podding height, branches per plant, pods per plant, seed yield per plant, 100-seed weight. Principal components analysis for mineral contents revealed that first three component accounted for 69.6% of total variability which was observed among the genotypes. PC1 was positively associated with protein, Cu, Zn, K, Mg, and P. PC2 was positively correlated with Mn and Ca, but negatively correlated with K. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that genotypes were grouped into 5 main clusters for agro-morphological traits and mineral concentrations. The present study revealed that wide genetic variability among the various genotypes for these traits from different clusters can be exploited for selection or hybridization programs to improve with high-seed yielding pea genotypes.

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